Joel OF Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 The short story: Tomorrow I'm going to look at a hand cranked fan and an electric blower, both priced at £65, (though I'd imagine there's a little wiggle room). I've been told that the blower is super strong, (and likely to be 100 times stronger than I need it), and that the hand cranked fan is well made. What should I look out for when inspecting these items? I'm guessing there's more to check with the hand cranked than the electric, but as this will be an antique shop and I doubt I'll be able to take the items to bits so what I'm really asking is - how do I tell from a look over that they're OK? Is it as simple as "if air comes out one end, it's fine"? The long story, (for those that can be bothered to read more): A little while ago I stumbled across some small foot bellows at an antique shop, (which is ironically located in an old smithy), and got chatting to the dealer who sourced them, turns out they came from a retiring blacksmith who worked on the other side of my county. Supposedly this blacksmith over the years has accumilated TONNES of stuff and is now getting rid of it, the antiques dealer gave me the smith's name but I was unable to find a contact number for the smith and cut out the middle man! After buying the bellows I left my number with the dealer and said if you get anything more in - swage blocks, hand cranked fan and the like - let me know and I'll come take a look...the dealer rang me this afternoon saying he's got some blowers. I'm the kinda guy that'll probably buy them whether or not it's useful to me now for two reasons A) it might come in useful someday and they're an investment, or B ) , so it goes to someone who appreciates it rather than some pretentious yuppie that's going to let it rust in his garden as an ornament. The reason I wouldn't buy them is if they're broken, hence my original question. Any help would be appreciated! Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 For coke, you will need the electric blower, for coal or charcoal, the hand one should do fine. In the hand one, you want a smooth, rattle/clicking free action and it should overun a couple or more turns on its own after being cranked. Check the handle for woodworm, and the case and mounting for cracks. Check how it mounts, and see if you need to make, or have a special mount for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Hale Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 There are lot of threads about blowers if you look in the area below this marked forges,,then click solid fuel. May be something of use to you there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HWHII Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 If they are broken, people are always looking for parts to fix up brooken ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herb Upham Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 I have use a Champion 400 blower to burn both coal and coke ... coke takes a little more attention to keep the fire going. However, what I have noticed is that my students burn much more coke with the electric blower than the hand crank. It is easy to "forget" to close the air valve when forging ... thus leaving the blast going all the time. So, from my experience, either work well but I burn less fuel with the hand crank to do the same amount of work. If you have a power hammer then the blower is better to keep a steady stream of work hot ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rustyanchor Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 On a hand crank blower a little oil can turn a piece of junk into a beautiful blower. I just bought a small old hand crank (ebay) and was very disappointed at how hard it was to crank. I opened it up to look at the gears and they looked brand new, the whole blower looked pristine, but it was very hard to crank and the fan rattled when it was turned. A little oil and tightening the fan spindle bushing, the blower now runs like a top. Try to get a peek inside if you can and see what the gearing and insides look like. On the 2 blowers I have, opening the gear cases is pretty simple, one is a thumb screw and the other has 3 bolts. Good luck ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel OF Posted January 24, 2013 Author Share Posted January 24, 2013 Cheers for the help people! I'm sure they'll be in a "used but not abused" sort of condition, but it's always worth getting some tips before buying just so you don't go in too naive. With regards to the hand cranked, assuming it's in OK condition how does the price sound, £65 sound fair? How significantly do mounts affect price? I very much doubt it's got one as I think he would have mentioned that when he rang. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Budd Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 i'd say £65 for a hand cranked is ok, they aren't that common in the UK. I bought one on ebay last year for about £80 (in good condition) and it was the first i had seen on there in a few years. assuming the price on both is good and they both work, then i would buy both. Most of the time the electric one will be your go to simply because it is much much easier. Unless you are working somewhere that you can't get power to, in which case you have no choices. I got mine because i teach groups without power tools (about 200yds from my workshop) but i would never dream of using it instead of my electric blower! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GNJC Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 I used a hand-cranked blowe for a my first few years and it was fine on all fuels once a fire was started; but, getting coke to light was a real effort (in every sense of the word!). The price sounds fair. Use a good grease once you get it and it will be fine. I did find that a 'shroud' over mine made a big difference, since it seemed to attract more forge dust than I'd have thought possible. Keep hunting for the retiring smith, there could be a bargain mine and if you don't the stuff will either be poshed or scrapped... both awful fates for good tools. If you find him and there are things you don't want or can't take, please let us know about them to avoid said fates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel OF Posted January 24, 2013 Author Share Posted January 24, 2013 Most of the time the electric one will be your go to simply because it is much much easier. Unless you are working somewhere that you can't get power to, in which case you have no choices. I got mine because i teach groups without power tools (about 200yds from my workshop) but i would never dream of using it instead of my electric blower! This is where the sentimentality/romanticism kicks in...the hair dryer I use at the minute does the job happily, but at the end of the day it's a cheap hair dryer from Argos. *CRINGE* I'd love a hand cranked fan "to own a piece of engineering history" and all that guff, but I'd also love to have one to have a "better connection" with my fire, (that sounds so lame) because I think using a hand cranked fan could teach me alot...with the hair dryer I just turn it on when needed and it's no hassle, but if the hand cranked fan is a hassle then it's going to force me to work more economically and to control my fire better. I know that ultimately that's creating more work for myself but I think it could be a useful learning curve because I think I'm quite trigger happy with the hair dryer and I'm using more air than is needed. Keep hunting for the retiring smith, there could be a bargain mine and if you don't the stuff will either be poshed or scrapped... both awful fates for good tools. If you find him and there are things you don't want or can't take, please let us know about them to avoid said fates. Most definitely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ciladog Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 I bought a hand crank blower that just sits under the bench even though I use an electric blower on the forge. Smithing is a survial skill but you can't use the forge if the power goes out or the electrical grid gets damaged or shut down. Just something to consider. Get both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rustyanchor Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Kurgan "This is where the sentimentality/romanticism kicks in...the hair dryer I use at the minute does the job happily, but at the end of the day it's a cheap hair dryer from Argos. *CRINGE* I'd love a hand cranked fan "to own a piece of engineering history" and all that guff" I would say that If using a hand crank gives you a better connection to your work and the craft, then DO IT. If you are not trying to make your living by forging a little sentimentality is nice. I love to find old tools, some are a little wounded, I fix them up and put them back to work, a little connection to the people who built and had to use these tools, and I hate to see a good tool used for decoration by folks that have no clue what it was for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raturay Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 I use an old 14 inch Buffalo blower and love it. I find it gives me a little extra time to plan the next move to the anvil (and provides some exercise for the left arm). My 5 year old grandson likes to help at times and with his new boots and safety glasses he turns the blower until he's worn out. He kept it up yesterday for much longer than I expected. And boy, can he ask some questions while cranking the blower - quality time........ I only use coke and find that the blower has no problem keeping a food fire unless it's left without air for, I don't know, maybe 20 minutes. Lighting is easy as well. My go is a few small pieces of charcoal in the bottom of the box a few chunks of solid fire lighter and then a few more chunks of charcoal. Get it going with some slow turns of the blower then add the coke. From start to hot steel is no more than 10 minutes. I've used electric blowers at classes and have a bad habit of not shutting the air down when at the anvil. Neddlessly burns a lot of fuel. I guess if I used one all the time I would soon get used to shutting off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bentiron1946 Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 I have had both and of the two I would say that my electric blow was the one I liked best. My crank blower set for years and I finally sold it to Harold a couple of years ago. The electric blower will save your strength for more important work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel OF Posted January 25, 2013 Author Share Posted January 25, 2013 Well it's an Alcosa F20 for a side blast partable forge. It's in good condition and runs nicely but I had to take it apart to have a nosey anyway...I was so surprised with the amount of gunk in there, I reckon I dug out enough gunk to fill a tea mug, I cleaned it up and I'll re-grease it at some point. I've made a bottom blast brake drum/55 gallon hybrid but I've sure I'll find a way to mount the blower. Even if I don't use it I'm happy to have one and I've caught the 'fixing old tools' bug...at 6.30am this morning when I had it out in pieces of the kitchen floor I suddenly got hit by the thought "it's started", my life flashed forward 20 years before my eyes and I could see a piles of old tools waiting to be fixed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rustyanchor Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 Kurgan Glad you got your blowers. Welcome to the club !!! I marvel at the craftsmanship and design engineering that went into the old tools. Seems like the makers put alot more pride into the work. Most of the castings and big parts seem to have had the makers name cast in or stamped in, not a cheap label plate riveted, or worse yet a plastic label stuck on. Maybe a sign of the cost of manufacturing, I dunno, but I like the solid feel of a cast iron or steel tool (until I had to move them 700 miles). A cleaning method I read about for your hand crank: Get as much of the gunk out as you can, close it up and run ATF (Automatic Transmission Fluid) thru it, drain it, do it again until the ATF comes out clean. then refill with what ever you will use for lube. Pics of your new goodie are always welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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